Harvick decides better safe than sorry in hectic day at Kansas
Kevin Harvick's day at Kansas Speedway was yet another microcosm of his 2014 season to date. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was fast all weekend long, pacing practice sessions and earning his eighth pole of the season, yet in the end another driver ended up in Victory Lane.
That weekend-long speed translated into the race, as Harvick led the field eight times for a total of 61 laps, second only to eventual race winner Joey Logano.
However, Harvick's opportunity to score the victory went away when he hit pit road under green while running third with 51 laps to go in the race. Harvick thought he had a tire going down as the car struggled to turn.
After a string of his Chase competitors -- including Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski -- hit the wall with blown tires, Harvick opted to play it safe and bring the car to pit road instead of risking a bad finish.
Harvick rejoined the race in the 22nd spot, one lap down to the race leader, but was able to take a wave-around, get back on the lead lap and fight his way to a 12th-place finish.
"I thought I had a flat tire and pitted because you see all the trouble that is going on," said Harvick. "So we missed it on the handling a little bit today. We qualified well and had good track position. That saved us in the beginning of the race and when I thought I had a flat, that just got us behind."
The disappointing result was yet another case where Harvick has been among the fastest cars in the field all weekend, yet has something go wrong that keeps him out of Victory Lane.
However, with fellow Chase drivers Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski and Kasey Kahne having bad days Sunday in Kansas, Harvick heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway sixth in the standings, with a 10-point advantage over Kahne in ninth. Only the top eight in the standings will advance to the next round of the Chase after Talladega.
VIDEO: Joey Logano wins the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway
